Interlocking pile construction



.MrchS, 1940.

H N. SIMPSON INTERLOCKING PILE CONSTRUCTION Original Filed April 12,1957 mm m .m... u moan w Patented Mar. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES 136,404.Divided and this application Decemher 5, 1939, Serial No. 307,617

3 Claims.

The invention herein described is also described, but not claimed, in myco-pending application for patent on Interlocking pile construction,filed April 12, 1937, Serial No. 136,404, of which this application is adivision.

My invention herein described relates specifically to a type ofinterlockable reinforcement, which I deem convenient to term crib-like,to be used in concrete pile construction, and I believe the same to bepreferable in some types of pile construction. A particular object ofthis invention is to provide interlockable reinforcements for concretepiles which may be fabricated from ordinary railroad rails, I-beams, orsimilar structural elements.

The details of construction and the use of my crib-like reinforcementsare hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawing; inwhich Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a portion of a railroad railwhich has been slitted obliquely in preparation for the lateralexpanding of this rail so that it may be formed into my crib-likereinforcement Figure 1a is transverse section on the line IAIA of Figure1;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the'same rail after it has beenlaterally expanded;

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective View of one unit of my crib-like interlockingreinforcement fabri cated from the rail after the same has beenlaterally stretched or expanded as shown by Figur 2; and

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken through a concrete pileincorporating my crib-like reinforcement.

Two lengths of railroad rails having a head a and base or flange b, asshown by Figure l, have oblique slits c, d, e, 1, made in their webs;these slits being parallel, equal-spaced and of equal length. The baseor flange b, is formed into a channel-shaped coupling element as shownin Figure 1a.

After the oblique slits have been cut the rail pieces are heated andthey are then expanded, in which expansion the slits c, d, e, i, becomewidened into spaces designated by the same letters. The head and flangeof rail pieces are then connected by lattice bars g, h, i, 9' as shownin Figure 2.

One of the expanded rail pieces is then cut' longitudinally through thecenter of the head a and the lattice bars g, h, i, a, but base of flangeI), is not cut. The two halves of the lattice bars are then bentoutwardly to produce laterally oifset ribs arranged in crib form asshown by Figure 4. The other rail piece is also slit and expanded asmentioned, and is also cut longitudinally through the center of thelattice bars, but in this case the cut is extended through thechannel-shaped flange 17, while the head a-is left uncut. This railpiece is also shaped into crib 10 form, similar .to that shownby Figure4. The two halves, of the flange of this rail piece are straightenedout'flat as shown at l, in Figure 5.

The two rail pieces slitted and shaped as mentioned constitute the unitsof my reinforcement. These units are then arranged inopposition as shownin Figure 5, and so as to overlap at their extremities, which are thensecurely connected, preferably welded together, so as to form a rigidcrib-like reinforcement as shown by Figure 5 in which the two units ofmy reinforcement ar designated m and n.

The reinforcement is now complete and may be incorporated in theconcrete pile as also shown 5 in Figure 5.

The laterally offset lattice bars g, h, i, a, of each unit will provideall reinforcement the concrete pile requires. f

The head a projecting exteriorly from the unit n, (Fig. 5) and thechanneled base or flange b, of the unit m, constitute the couplingelements by which the reinforcements or similarly rein-' forcedadjacentpiles may be coupled together.

The vabove-described method for fabricating my crib-like interlcckablereinforcement is merely such method as I deem convenient.

I claim: I

l. A unitary reinforcement for concrete piles composed of two units ofcrib-like form in crosss'ection, said units being oppositely arranged,each unit comprising a central longitudinal rib 40 havingtwolaterally-offset longitudinal ribs con nected therewith by anintermediate lattice web, the offset ribs of one unit being rigidlyconnected respectively to the offset ribs of the other unit, the centralrib of each unit having a projecting coupling element adapted to beinterlocked with a coupling element of the reinforcement of an adjacentpile.

2.A unitary reinforcement for concrete piles composed of two units ofrectangular crib-like form in cross-section, said units being oppositelyarranged, each unit comprising a central longitudinal rib having twoparallel laterally-offset longitudinal ribs connected therewith by anintermediate lattice web, the offset ribs of one'unit 55 being rigidlyconnected respectively to the offset ribs of the other unit, the centralrib oi! each unit having a projecting coupling element adapted to beinterlocked with a coupling element of the reinforcement of an adjacentpile.

3. In combination with a concrete pile, a unitary reinforcementcomprising parallel longitudinally extending members, one memberincluding a coupling head having a neck of smaller 10 cross-section thanthat of the head, said head extending beyond the surface of the pile,the other member including a coupling channel, said channel embedded inthe material of the pile and formed to receive and interlock with acomplementary coupling head, a pair of laterally ofiset longitudinalribs connected to each of said members by a lattice web, and said ribsof one member rigidly connected respectively to said ribs of the othermember.

HERMAN N. SIMPSON.

